Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin had perhaps the strongest, toughest steer in the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo’s Round 3 pen, but nobody told them that.

The duo—who’d been skunked in the first two rounds of the Finals with misses on the heel side—made a sharp run to be 3.7 and win the round, worth $30,706 a man.

“Sometimes you make the best runs on the ones guys don’t think are very good because you’ve got to be more aggressive,” Proctor, 38, of Pryor, Oklahoma, said. “Derrick ran that steer, and when he stuck it on his horns, he kind of stood his horse up and made his horse stand up and come around the corner and not tear the ground up. And man that steer’s feet went tap, tap, tap. He was hitting like a typewriter.”

Proctor knew he’d be able to open the steer up with his great horse SCR Sporties Playgun (Heisman), getting the steer to the end of it and not swinging his hips down the pen too far for his partner to open him up and give Medlin a chance.

“Medlin’s a 10 and he’s the best heeler in the world,” Proctor laughed. “All I’ve got to do is get him legal.”

Medlin, having missed the first two steers, was confident that this steer—strong or not—would give them a chance to win.

“I saw the same thing Coleman did when I watched the video,” Medlin, 32, of Tatum, New Mexico, said. “I knew he’d probably run straight, and if they’ll run straight, our team has a chance. If they’ll give us an honest chance, whether one’s strong or one lopes, that Coleman can get it on him and get the barrier and set them on the end of it. When he sets them on the end of it and gets them in tow, we’re going to be fast enough. I never back in there trying to speed things up roping with Coleman. Our run is fast enough. If I do my job the time will take care of itself.”

When the flag fell in 3.7 seconds thanks to a big stop by TRR Freckles Holidoc (Cantina), Proctor and Medlin jumped past Andrew Ward and Buddy Hawkins‘ 3.8-second run and held the lead for the duration. It was a much-needed reset on their week, with seven steers left to rope in the Thomas & Mack.

Bonus: Did you see Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin take a little extra time in the box? Listen to Coleman’s play-by-play on what happened and how he and Heisman handled it on The Score’s interview from Round 3.

“I didn’t have the right mentality the first two rounds,” Medlin said. “I want to go back to being myself getting to the end of it, being aggressive and looking for the first jump. I at least wanted to ride my horse the right way. I wanted to stay in my lane a little longer, not crowding in there too early where Coleman has to drag him out from underneath me. The first round I was so late I screwed us up. If I can get behind them, I can catch them no matter where they go. I know Coleman will do his job, so I was mainly telling myself to stay in my lane and get behind them.”

The win moved them to fourth in the PRCA world standings with $174,193 a man. In the standings race, leaders Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira took a no-time, dropping to second with $188,221 won on the year. Going into Round 4, Nelson Wyatt leads the PRCA world heading standings with $188,513.57 won, while Wesley Thorp leads the heeling with $195,029.

2023 NFR Round 3 Team Roping Results: